Brother Turtle, Mother Rat
by Dawn Totadile
Summary: I know you all love your angst with Teng Shen's death, but here's a twist; she's the mother of the four turtles and Miwa, and she is alive. In this version, she and Donatello had a run in with the Foot clan and get oozed. How is the family going to deal with this as one by one they get mutated and forced into hiding thanks to a mad-man's anger?
1. Chapter 1

Donatello had always been the smartest of his family, especially his siblings. He was only two years old when it happened. He had been out with his mother taking, care of the shopping. His siblings were with his father. He was the fourth of a set of five children born on the same day. He had held onto his mother's hand tightly as she went through the store, looking for groceries. The family had recently moved to America after having a falling out with another competitor for the mother's heart. Teng Shen was a woman of great beauty and kindness. Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi both competed for the heart of Teng Shen, but only one had won with his own kindness. Oroku Saki was completely jealous, and had become even more so when he had found out about their quintuplets; Miwa, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Hamato Yoshi took his family to the city of New York in America to live and hide from his enemy.

Unfortunately, they were followed. Teng Shen was now running in the sewers, clutching her baby to her chest as she was followed. Donatello had fear in his mahogany eyes as he clutched his mother's kimono. "Mother… they're coming." Donatello was the genius of the five and could already talk. He was also already getting his hands on tools and trying to figure out how things worked. His curiosity was something that had always pleased his parents, as it was tempered with patience.

"I know, Donatello. Just hold on." Tears were falling from her face as she ran through the sewers, trying to lose the ninjas that followed her. "Gah!" She tripped upon a few animals that had somehow gotten into the sewers, accidently releasing her son from her grasp. "Donatello!" She had tripped on a rat and scrambled to get closer to her baby to protect him, as he had landed on some sort of turtle that had been flushed down the sewers for some reason.

"MOMMY!" The toddler cried as the ninja came closer. One of the newer and younger ninja had accidently thrown a vial of mutagen they were supposed to deliver instead of a smoke pellet. The two were covered in the mutagen as Teng Shen grabbed her son and continued running, ignoring the pains of the mutagen running through her system now. She had to get her baby to safety. They had only been slightly splashed with the mutagen, but Donatello could already feel himself changing because of the turtle he had fallen near and the mutagen. He held on tighter as the pain became almost unbearable for the child.

Teng Shen found herself moving faster than ever before because of her own mutation. Her rat legs were stronger and she found her tail was attacking anyone that came too close. She cried as she found her son had turned into a turtle, but that he was still sentient. She then looked at her own paws while running and was scared. She couldn't go back to her family, not like this at least.

Eventually the two had lost their pursuers. They found themselves in a small old abandoned subway station. Teng Shen hid in one of the subway cars, having closed the doors behind her, and cried with her little baby turtle in her arms. The little turtle, though a genius, didn't understand why she was crying. They were safe now. Then he took stock of what had happened to them. He had a shell, and she had a tail. He gasped. They couldn't go home like this! They'd scare his siblings most likely. Donatello started to sniffle as his mind connected the dots. He then looked to his mother. "We're gonna be alright, mother." Donatello said as he patted her hand. She looked him square in the eyes and noticed his determination. "We'll stay here until I can fix us. I'll fix us, I promise." Donatello was always trying to fix people's problems, especially among his siblings, though they were only toddlers.

Teng Shen hugged her son tighter and whispered into his ear. "My son, you'd promise me the moon if you thought it would make me feel better."

"I can make a moon!" The boy said innocently as he hugged her back. "Do you want a moon?"

"No thank you, baby. I want to go home… but we can't like this…"

Donatello looked at his strange hands, as they now only had three fingers. He grinned with a smile that had a gap in the teeth. "I got three fingers!" His exclamation was filled with laughter, making his mother chuckle weakly.

"Yes… and I have a tail…"


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few months since Teng Shen and Donatello had disappeared. Her husband and children became worried when they could not call her and when the two did not come home that night. Hamato Yoshi put up missing people posters everywhere, trying to find his wife and third son.

Teng Shen found one such poster as it fluttered down the pipes to her new home with her son. Donatello was already trying to make this place better and learning to read and repair items. She put the poster up on one of the walls of her room, as there was enough space for the two of them to have a room. Donatello had even pointed out that there was enough room for all of their family to have their own room, a dojo for training, a kitchen, a living room, and a large bathroom. The bathroom was one of the first things Donatello had learned to fix.

Donatello noticed his mother's sadness and decided to pay a visit to his siblings and father, without his mother knowing. He snuck off in the silence of the night after he was sure that his mother was asleep. He made his way through the shadows and to his house. He noticed his brothers were still up and playing outside. He hid in the bushes just as the eldest of his siblings, his sister Miwa, turned towards him. Miwa gasped and pointed to the bush that was shaking. Though they were still toddlers, Donatello was able to understand both his parents, and all of his siblings while still talking like he was a few years older.

His tough and rough brother, Raphael, decided to charge into the bush, and ended up tussling with the young turtle boy. He only stopped once the two were out of the bush and in a slightly better light. He gasped as he recognized the mahogany eyes of his little brother. "Donnie!" He practically jumped off of the boy who slowly stood up.

The turtle boy was crying as the other children came close to him. He was a turtle boy! But he was also their brother, Donatello! Leonardo looked at him and then at the house. They were lucky that it was sunset and that no one else could see them. "Where have you been?"

"Hiding… me and mommy can't come back till we fix this…"

"Mommy's okay?" Michelangelo asked worriedly as he made his way to his turtle brother.

Donatello ruffled the youngest brother's hair. "She's a rat now. She's fine. We live in the sewers."

"We should tell father. He's been worried sick about you guys!" Leonardo clenched his fists.

"You can't! What will he think? I'm a turtle, and mommy's a rat! Those mean ninjas hit us with something and now I have a shell!" He turned and pointed to his shell while crying. "I have a shell!" Then he held up his hands. "I have three fingers now too! Mommy has fur and a tail!" Donatello started hiccupping as he cried.

The sounds brought out their father, Hamato Yoshi. He was shocked to see the young boy that was a turtle. He was even more shocked by his children surrounding it with kindness, trying to get it to calm down. "Children?"

Donatello gasped and ducked for the sewer hole that he had come up from. "Don, wait!" Michelangelo cried as he tried to reach for his brother. Raphael stopped him and shook his head. Michelangelo looked up at him, being shorter by a couple of inches, and started crying into his shoulder.

Hamato Yoshi gathered them and listened as they tried to explain what they had been told. He did not know whether or not to believe them, but for their sake, he chose that he would, for now. His wife and third son were still alive in New York, but they were changed. 'If I ever get the chance to take care of them again, I will. Oroku Saki, you shall pay for this. I know they were your ninjas. This will not stand.' He held his children in a hug, trying to comfort the four of them. "Do not worry. We shall find them one day. When we find them again, we shall protect them."

"How, father?" Leonardo spoke his first words with such determination and confusion that Yoshi couldn't help but smile.

"I will teach you ninjitsu so you can defend yourselves. We will not let this happen again." The four children nodded as they were led inside. Should the opportunity to protect their brother and mother again, they would take it. They were a family, and they would stick together, no matter what happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Donatello woke up early on his fifteenth birthday and did his morning workout, just as he had done everyday since his mother had started teaching him ninjitsu. Teng Shen didn't know much about many weapons in ninjitsu, but she was grateful that he had chosen one of the few she knew. He had chosen the Bo staff. Her favored weapon was the fan blades.

He did his katas like a good boy for about two hours before his mother woke up. His mother started breakfast for them while he meditated. During his meditation, Donatello tried to connect with his siblings like he would each day. Because they were all born on the same day, their mental connection was stronger than it was to their parents, not that Hamato Yoshi hadn't tried to connect to his wife and son. Teng Shen was just too afraid to face him.

Donatello smiled as his human avatar met up with his siblings in the spirit world. "Hey guys, happy birthday!"

"Donnie!" Michelangelo's spirit ran and grabbed his in a hug, which he happily returned. "Happy birthday. How ya doing?"

"I'm good. Mom's just making breakfast. I've almost mastered a new kata."

"That's great, Don." Leonardo smiled as his spirit came closer to his. Raphael and Miwa followed behind.

"I still don't get how come we can't have you and ma living with us, Donnie. I mean, ya seem normal to me." Raphael muttered.

"Raph, this is the spirit realm, remember? That's the only reason. I'm telling ya, as soon as I figure out how to reverse the effects of the mutagen, then we can come home."

"I hope so. It doesn't feel right without you both. Even Father admits it, though he wishes he knew where to look." Miwa mumbled.

"Miwa, don't mumble… I'm doing everything I can. It's advanced science that I'm sure even college professors would struggle with. Please. Trust me. I really am doing all I can to take care of mom and make sure we both come home safely." Donatello pleaded with his sister.

Miwa sighed. "I trust you, Don. I just want you both back." She gave him a last hug before they ended their meditation, knowing that the world was often cruel to good people.

Donatello sighed as he awoke from his meditation. He hadn't yet told his mother that he still had contact with his siblings, nor had they told their father that they had contact with Donatello. Donatello helped his mother set the table, and after breakfast, he washed the dishes, just like he had been doing for the past thirteen years.

After breakfast, the two of them sparred. Donatello was getting better and almost managing to beat his mother a few times. After a few hours of sparring though, Donatello went onto his computer and started working on his main project of trying to reverse the mutation that had occurred to his mother. He would worry about his own mutation later. His siblings needed his mother more than they needed him. Besides, he knew that his mother was still one for the world above, but Donatello had actually grown quite used to the world of the sewers.

Before Donatello knew it, it was evening. "Donatello."

"Yes, mother?" He turned his head towards his mother with a smirk.

"You need more exercise my son."

Donatello sighed. She would tell him this once a week, trying to get him off of his computer, even though she knew what he was trying to do. "Yes, mother. I'll go take a jog around the sewers."

"Alright, but be careful… and bring your staff. I don't want you to be defenseless."

"I've got my shellcell on me if you need me or if I need help, mother. I'll be fine."

Teng Shen nodded. "Still… be careful, my son. I do not wish to lose you."

Donatello gave a small weak smile. "You won't."


	4. Chapter 4

Donatello ran through the sewer with a rush in his heart. He loved running his route, even if he did it sparingly. 'When I turn back into a human, I'll show this route to the others.' He looked at his three fingered hands with a grimace. 'It'll be strange having a human hand again.' He paused as he heard fighting up above him. He frowned and made his way to the nearest sewer grate so he could see what was going on. He growled softly as he saw some teenagers fighting with ninja weapons against some men in business suits that seemed strangely robotic. His glare hardened as he recognized the symbols on the young ninja outfits; the flower like symbol of the Hamato clan. He adjusted his purple mask and his brown belt. 'Why not. I think a little team practice is in order.' He made his way over to a manhole cover that was covered in shadows. He snuck over to it and made his way to the surface, a rarity for him. He took a deep breath and assessed the situation.

The boy in the red gi was back to back with the one in the blue gi. The boy in orange was jumping around crazily while a girl in black and yellow was moving with more precise actions. The red masked boy had a set of sais while his blue counterpart had twin katana blades in hand, both using them like masters. The orange masked lad was using his nunchakus with ease, but also skill. The black masked girl fought with ferocity and grace with her tanto and shikomizue. Donatello smirked as he made his way through the shadows.

He started knocking out the business men with his Bo staff without revealing himself. During one of his hits, one of the "men" were actually revealed as a robot with a pink brain like alien in its center that was known as Kraang. Donatello gasped in shock. Michelangelo, who was closest to him at the time, turned his head towards the noise. He frowned. "Dudes, either the Kraang are tripping over each other, or someone else is helping us!"

Donatello was going to stay silent and in the dark when he noticed his little brother was about to be attacked from behind. He jumped in the way, taking the weak hit on his shell. It was weak enough that it only made a thumping noise, but it still would have knocked out the human boy. Michelangelo turned around with fear in his eyes as the large turtle creature grabbed the robot's hand and threw the robot into another one that was attacking Miwa. The turtle then turned back to the boy for a moment with a pained look on his face. 'I shouldn't have let him see me like this again…'

Much to his surprise, Michelangelo just smiled, laughed, and then said, "Nice of you ta show up, bro! We could use a hand against these guys." Then he turned back to the battle and ran in shouting, "Booyakasha!"

Donatello was stunned, but only momentarily as he noticed that Raphael had separated from Leonardo and had ended up way over his head. There were Kraang surrounding him from all sides. Leonardo was too busy helping Miwa to notice, and Michelangelo was struggling to get to him, what with his own fight going on. The purple masked turtle shrugged and made his way over. Because of his mutation, he was only slightly stronger than Raphael, not that he'd dare let the boy know that. He ran as fast as he could while doing a few flips. He landed on top of some of the robots and started running on them towards Raphael just as he was covered in the bots. 'Hang on, Raphie!'

He landed just outside of the pile of robots on his elder brother and started beating them off with a stick. At one point, he found someone had grabbed onto his Bo staff, he pulled them out of the pile, hoping it was Raphael, and was rewarded with his elder brother glaring at him before it turned into a smirk. "I was wondering when you were gonna show up, brainiac. Heh, trying to make us do all the work on our own, huh?"

"Raph, gonna be honest here, I don't know what the shell we're fighting here. Mind explaining?" Donatello grimaced as he helped the red banded boy up.

"Oh, just the usual aliens trying to take over the world and decided to team up with…"

"NINJAS!" Miwa shouted as she pointed towards the Foot Clan ninjas that were running towards them. Donatello growled. These ninjas were responsible for his mother living miserably down in the sewers.

"Don, you okay?"

"It's their fault that mother's living in the sewers as a rat, afraid to face the world, afraid to go and even see father." Donatello growled. "It's their fault that Master Thorn is afraid to go home. Why do they keep showing up?"

"Okay, so you know how to fight the ninjas instead of the aliens?"

Donatello gave him a look that was similar to his own "Well duh!" look that he would give when asked a stupid question. "They still keep searching for me and mother."

Raphael then growled. "Well then, let's show them not to mess with us." Donatello smirked at his smaller brother. His turtle genetics had made him about half a foot taller than his tallest siblings, Miwa and Leonardo, which meant he was about a whole foot taller than Michelangelo.

The two boys ran towards the ninjas and started their brutal assault while Miwa, Leonardo, and Michelangelo continued attacking the robots with aliens in them. Though the two had never fought together before, Raphael felt instantly safer with his turtle brother defending him, almost like when he had Leonardo on his side instead of arguing with him all the time.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for the young teens to dispatch the ninjas and the remainder of the robots. Donatello ended it with throwing a shuriken at what appeared to be a ninja. It seemed that the ninjas were also robots. The robot fizzled as it ran away with one arm left behind.

"Nice shot, Don." Raphael smirked as he patted the turtle brother on the back of his shell.

"Thanks, now what were you all doing, fighting those things?" Donatello asked as he took a seat in an alley nearby. His siblings all took seats nearby as well.

"The Kraang are a race of aliens that are trying to take over the world. We've been fighting them since they showed up with these weird canisters and started helping the Foot." Michelangelo explained as he jumped onto his immediate older brother's shell and hugged him. Donatello grimaced.

"What kind of canisters?"

"Leo, show him!"

Leonardo was still looking at the turtle with concern. He had dark black hair that was shagged forward naturally forward in what was called "Hamato Spikes". His sky blue eyes filled with confusion. They hadn't seen Donatello in person, in his turtle form, since that night all those years ago when he told them that he and their mother were still alive.

"Leonardo?" Leonardo looked up at the mahogany eyed turtle as though waking up from a dream. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine…" He reached into the satchel that he had, and pulled out a large canister with green glowing ooze. Donatello's eyes widened and his heart stopped. "Here… Don?"

"Where did you get that?"

"Like Mikey said, the Kraang had them."

"The Foot has them."

"What?" The four human Hamato teens exchanged shocked looks as Donatello tentively grabbed the large canister, as though afraid of it suddenly attacking him.

"I remember this thing, but it was smaller, and fit on the belt of one of the foot ninjas. He was stupid. Probably thought he was reaching for a smoke pellet and grabbed the small vial of this instead. He threw it." Donatello was taking deep breaths while his siblings hung onto every word. "Mother tripped on a sewer rat as it hit us. I fell on some turtle that had recently been flushed down the drain or something. I… Mother picked me back up and continued running… I remember how much it burned, but I was too scared to cry out. I felt my shell grow onto my back. It hurt… Mother ignored the pain of her own transformation… her tail must have hurt. I barely have one and it hurt… When we finally lost the ninjas and got somewhere safe, she sat down and cried herself to sleep with me in her arms… I've never seen her so scared before then…" Donatello sniffled. Then his eyes hardened into a glare. "Maybe I can finally reverse this things' effect on her with this…"

"Donnie…" He looked up to his siblings, almost having forgotten they were there. Leonardo put a hand on his turtle brother's shoulder. "Just don't forget to fix yourself as well…" Donatello grimaced. He was so used to being a turtle now that he would sometimes forget that he was originally a boy, a human boy.

"I'll… I'll try, Leo, but my mutation seems a little more complex."

"How so?" Raphael didn't like it when things became complicated.

"Raph, I've grown as a turtle. I almost don't remember what it was like being human, nor do I know what I'll end up looking like when I return to that form." Donatello sighed as he felt Michelangelo slide off of his shell. Truthfully, he actually liked having the youngest of the quintuplets on his back. It made him feel needed.

"Right… we'll teach ya." Raphael smirked.

Michelangelo hugged the turtle from the front this time, careful not to touch the ooze canister. "We'll take care of you, and mom. Promise."

Donatello couldn't help but smirk. "Thanks, Mikey." Then he looked at his watch. It was nearing eight at night. "You guys should head home. Father might get worried."

"Yeah, Master Splinter would be annoyed if we stayed out past curfew… you gonna see him?" Leonardo asked with concern. Donatello never talked to their father, for fear of scaring him. He wished that he could though.

"I should get back to mother with this. Try not to get killed."

"You too."

Donatello lifted up a nearby manhole cover and slipped in with the mutagen canister in hand. He ran as fast as he could towards his home when he saw a shadow was up ahead, looking around in caution. He stopped and hid, hoping to not be noticed. He peeked out from behind the wall he was hiding and his heart nearly stopped. It was his father! 'What the shell is he doing here?'

The tall black haired Asian sighed as he scratched off another segment of his sewer map. He held a flashlight in one hand while a map and pen in the other. "Teng Shen… Donatello… why can I never find you?" Donatello's heart nearly broke. His father was looking for them still. "I know you are still alive… why do you hide from me?" He sounded so heartbroken that Donatello gritted his teeth. He had to weigh his options.

He sighed as his mind came to a decision, or rather, his heart. "We hide because we are afraid, father." The man's head lifted as he looked around for the source of the voice.

"Donatello?"

"I'm here, and mother is safe. Please, just go back to the others. I promise, we'll come home when I can fix this. Mother's afraid, and until I can get her back to normal, she won't stop being scared to return home."

"Donatello… please, let me help…"

"I don't see how you can, father. I'm sorry."

"Where are you, my son? Please… are you afraid of me as well?"

Donatello felt like someone had tried to squeeze his heart. "Father… it's not you that we are afraid of." Donatello sighed as he stepped into his father's line of sight, into the flashlight's light. He was a foot shorter than his father, as the man was tall for a human. "It's scaring you that we are afraid of." His mahogany eyes looked up at his father with respect, fear, and concern as his father looked him over.

"Donatello…" much to the turtle's surprise, the tall man stooped down and hugged his long lost son. "Do not doubt me so, please."

"Donatello! Donatello, where are you!" The two males turned towards the sound of Teng Shen looking through the sewers for the boy. Donatello looked at his watch and grimaced.

"I'm late." He started towards his mother's voice. "You should go back to the others still, father. They need you. I've almost figured out a cure for mother. I'm sure of it."

"And what about you, my son?"

"I'll figure something out for me later, but mother is the bigger priority. I hope to see you again, father… thank you." With that, Donatello threw down a smoke pellet and disappeared into a purple haze, leaving his father hoping for the safe return of his wife and son.


	5. Chapter 5

Donatello worked harder than ever before to get the mutagen reversed, for his family's sake if not his own. 'The fact that aliens and the Foot are working together is seriously troubling.' His mother came in to check on him two days later, wondering if he was alright.

"Donatello, where did you get that?" She pointed to the pink glowing container. "It looks dangerous."

"That's because it is, mother. It's a canister of the ooze that transformed us into what we are. I found some teenagers fighting some aliens and ninjas for it." He hated lying to his mother, but at the same time, it was somewhat the truth; just a half-truth though. "I managed to snag it as the aliens and ninja ran away. The teens seemed trained in ninjitsu as well." He was trying to subtly let his mother know that his siblings were also being trained in the art of stealth and were fighting the same forces they were.

"Oh my…" She understood, but still didn't know that the children had seen their brother. "I hope they're okay."

"They were fine… what's that?" He turned his head towards a sound. His mother put a paw to her mouth in shock. Her ears were more sensitive than his own, as they were bigger. "Stay here, mother." He grabbed his staff and ran out of their home, past the turnstiles and into the sewer tunnels. The sound was getting louder. It was the sound of someone yelling in pain. He made his way towards the noise and started to hear sobbing as well. Someone was crying? What had happened?

He stopped when he saw what had happened. His eyes widened in horror as he looked at the three boys and the one girl that were all in the tunnels. There was also some sort of creature being surrounded by two of the boys while the third had his head held up by the girl. He too seemed to be unconscious, but the gasps coming from his mouth said otherwise. Donatello was paralyzed. He recognized the humans and noticed their tears. He also recognized the transformation that the boy was undergoing. He looked around for the cause of it and found what he had feared. A small vial of pink ooze, just like what had been used on himself and his mother. "No…"

The girl looked up in shock with a glare on her face. Donatello was startled by the ferocity in her eyes. He felt himself tremble with fear as tears threatened to roll down his face. When she recognized the turtle in the shadows of the sewer, she gasped and looked ashamed of herself.

Donatello made his way towards the boy who had started to grow a shell and the girl that was holding his head up. "What happened to you guys?" The other children looked injured as well, but they were not undergoing transformations like the others.

The eldest of the boys jerked at the noise, panic also in his eyes until he recognized his turtle brother. "We were attacked in our own home. Raph was taking care of his pet turtle, Spike, and I guess Father had a rat run across his feet or something. We didn't get hit with the ooze, but…" His blue eyes were full of tears, as were those of Michelangelo's, who held his father with determination to keep him from further harm.

Donatello closed his eyes to concentrate on keeping his rage inside of him. Raphael shuddered as the last part of his transformation finished. He was too heavy for anyone but Donatello to carry with that shell on his back. As for their father… Leonardo and Miwa could carry him back to their lair. It was official… he had to bring them to Master Thorn. He grabbed out his Shell Cell from his belt and called his mother. "Master Thorn, we got a problem. I'm bringing guests home… yes, they won't blab… in fact I think they'll be safer staying with us… yes, I can trust them… not all of them are human, Sensei. There was an accident and a fight apparently. They're hurt, but they'll be fine after I finally make that cure… yes… two were mutated… The two are just unconscious, that's all… Trust me, mother. They're more worried about the two that are undergoing the mutation process than they are about us. We'll be there soon."

"You called mother?" Leonardo looked up at his taller brother with confusion.

"Trust me, Leo. It's already going to be bad enough that it's you all… She hasn't seen you in twelve years… to find this happening… she's going to freak out enough." He gently grabbed hold of his hot headed older brother, Raphael, who was now a turtle, and swung him over his shoulder. "Hang in there, Raph. The burning sensation only lasts a few hours." The purple turtle sighed as he noticed the remnants of his brother's clothes in the sewer sludge. "Well that's nice…" He then looked to his father. He was still in his kimono, which seemed to fit nicely over him, though he was now a rat. "Miwa, you and Leo carry father. Mikey, you got defense, deal?" He smirked as the youngest of the set nodded eagerly, whipping out his nunchaku.

"Got it, Donnie. No one's gonna hurt them again while I'm watching." He had such determination in his voice that Donatello almost chuckled.

He heard Raphael groan though and sighed. "Let's go. Everyone stay close to me." Hamato Yoshi's transformation made him into a tall and dark furred rat with large ears, while Raphael was only slightly taller than he had been and a very muscular green turtle. When they finally made their way to the turnstiles, Donatello called out to his mother. "Master Thorn! We're here!"

Teng Shen moved swiftly at the sound of her precious turtle boy. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw that what he had told her was true. There were two new mutants and three humans in her home. "Oh my…" She quickly pointed to the couch and make shift bed that was set out in their living room. "Put them there. Oh my goodness…"

Donatello slowly lowered his brother onto the makeshift bed and indicated that their father should be placed on the couch. "I'll be right back with my medi-kit. Michelangelo, there's some ice packs in the fridge. Raph and Father will feel a burning sensation even after they awaken. Leo, you and Miwa can get some of the blankets from the cupboard over there." He pointed out where the cupboards with the extra blankets were, next to his lab, as being half cold blooded tended to make him rely on blankets more. "Raph's gonna need them most after the burning stops."

The three humans nodded and ran to their tasks while their mother looked at them all with concern. "They are…"

"Yes, mother, they're our family. Apparently, the house was attacked, and they were injured in their escape. Excuse me while I get the first aid kit." He ran to his lab where he stored his kit.

Teng Shen felt tears fall from her eyes as she looked at her husband and one of her sons having also transformed into a rat and a turtle. 'Yoshi… and that must be Raphael… why did this have to happen to you, my family?'

Donatello quickly broke her concentration as he started to bandage their wounds. Leonardo and Miwa had grabbed the blankets and waited for Donatello's signal to place them onto their wounded brother and father. Michelangelo had grabbed a small bucket to hold the ice packs in because of how cold they were. He sat down on the floor next to Raphael while Miwa and Leonardo kept shifting feet while standing.

"Are they gonna be okay, Donnie?" Michelangelo asked as his brother and father moaned under the careful ministrations of the tall turtle.

Donatello let out a soft chuckle. "Don't worry, Mikey. They're getting off easy. It's more painful when you're awake." He then stood up. "Mother, can you watch them while I see if these three need any bandages?"

"Don, we're fine. We…" Donatello gave Leonardo a look that asked him if he was seriously going to try that. Donatello pointed to the blood on his arm and the scratch on Miwa's shoulder. Michelangelo was in need of either a new shirt, or a completely new gi, Donatello wasn't sure yet.

"Not with those scratches on you, you aren't. Leo, Miwa, you two are first. Mikey…" He looked to his happy go lucky little brother who had a deadpan serious face on as he looked at his master and brother, still unconscious. Donatello sighed and tried to give him an encouraging smirk. "Why don't you tell Master Thorn all about what you guys have been up to topside while we've been down here, okay?"

Michelangelo looked up at his brother and smirked back, knowing it was an excuse to keep both him and their mother occupied while they waited. "Sure thing, Donnie." He then turned to his mother and immediately launched into what they had all started doing after the two had left, even going so far as to mention the one time they had seen Donatello after they had first left. Michelangelo liked keeping his hands busy though, so the two made their way to the kitchen to make something for dinner.

Donatello couldn't help but give a weak smile as he saw his human brother and his mother rat interacting like he had just come home from school and was telling her all about it. It was almost normal.


	6. Chapter 6

Hamato Yoshi, also known as Master Splinter, awoke slowly as he felt gravity pulling him down. He did not recognize where he was. He tried to sit up, but a stern green hand with three fingers forced him to lay back down. He managed to turn his head, and much to his surprise, he saw a giant turtle. He recognized the purple bandana to belong to his son, Donatello, who he had gotten a glimpse of two nights ago. The turtle was working on a laptop and didn't seem to be paying attention. Splinter tried to sit up again, only to find Donatello's strong arm pushing him gently back down onto the couch while his eyes continued looking at his computer and the other hand continued to fly over the keys.

"Father, you need your rest just as much as Raphael and the others. It's still early." His hushed tones were stern as though he was the parent instead of the son. "How do you feel?"

"Donatello? I feel strange… like my whole body was on fire… but now it's not."

"Yeah, we had to get you some icepacks after an hour so that it wouldn't burn you awake. With Raph, it was sorta harder. Turtles are naturally cold blooded, and while we aren't completely cold blooded, we still need a bit more heat than you and mother do." Donatello paused whatever he was doing on his computer and looked up at his father with his sad mahogany eyes. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes… what of your brothers and sister?" He noticed the snout on his face and that he had rat paws instead of his human hands. Then, much to his horror, he noticed another turtle under a red blanket that was breathing hard. "What…?"

"Raphael was mutated as well… I'm already doing everything I can to fix this father. It'll take time. I don't know how much or how to fix it, but I swear, I will…" He let his hands fly back to the computer though his gaze turned to his elder brother. "I promise…"

Splinter allowed a small smile. "Donatello… I think you would promise the moon if you thought it would bring someone joy. You and Michelangelo do not seem to like sadness."

"He actually offered to build me a moon after the transformation happened for us and we found this place." Donatello grimaced as the two looked up at Teng Shen. She was slightly taller than Donatello, but still shorter than her husband.

"Teng Shen?" Yoshi asked in a quiet whisper, more of fear and disbelief than to be quiet.

"Yes, Yoshi. Rest now… we will talk more in the morning. Donatello, please go to bed. Surely you are tired as well."

"I'm fine, mother. Besides, I told the others they could stay in my room till we fix up the other rooms in here to accommodate them." He smiled.

Teng Shen just sighed and went to meditate after giving her husband a pat on the head, further convincing him to rest longer. The taller rat grimaced as he fell back asleep. Teng Shen smirked as she too went to her room to rest.


End file.
